This citrus cheesecake is fresh and bright tasting, and is particularly good in the winter when Key limes and Meyer lemons are in season. The rest of the year, just use regular limes and lemons…your cheesecake will still be completely delicious! I like every part of this cheesecake to be citrusy, and so I add zest, juice and/or citrus oils to crust, filling, and frosting. If you’re not quite as addicted to lemons and limes as I, you can just flavor the filling. The photo of a mini-cheesecake shows the frosting lumpiness that can happen when one’s obsession with over-the-top zest reaches its limits :/
Citrus Cheesecake
Makes one 8-inch cheesecake
CRUST
3/4 cup almond flour
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup butter
12 drops liquid stevia glycerite PLUS 1/4 cup Swerve Confectioners Sweetener
(ALTERNATIVE: 1/4 teaspoon liquid stevia glycerite)
1/2 tsp Celtic sea salt
1 egg white
Optional: 2-3 drops lemon oil
FILLING
3 pounds (Six 8-oz. bricks)) grass-fed cream cheese
37 drops liquid stevia glycerite PLUS 2-1/2 tablespoons Swerve
(ALTERNATIVE: 3/4 teaspoon liquid stevia glycerite—or—1/3 cup Swerve Confectioners Sweetener)
1/2 cup zests of lemon and lime
3-4 T. Meyer lemon juice (or regular lemon juice)
3-4 T. Key lime juice
1 tsp Nielson-Massey Madagascar Bourbon vanilla *
3 pasture-raised eggs
FROSTING
Freshly-whipped cream
(If desired, add some more zest and a squeeze or two of lemon/lime juice)
/or/
Cream Cheese Frosting with Lime Zest
***
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Pulse the crust ingredients in a food processor. Press dough into the bottom of the springform pan.
Mix cream cheese, sweetener, zests, lemon and lime juices, and vanilla extract in a stand mixer until blended. Pour over crust.
Note: you can use a water bath to create a more even baking process. To prevent water from seeping into the removable bottom of the springform pan, wrap aluminum foil completely around the bottom and halfway up the sides of the pan. Place the cheesecake into any baking pan with sides and place the pans into the oven. Use a teakettle to fill the outer pan with hot water.
Check the cheesecake at the 55-minute mark to see how it’s doing. Bake until center is almost set.
Run knife around the rim of the pan to loosen cake and allow to cool in oven before removing the spring-form pan ring. Refrigerate overnight. Cut cheesecake into 16 pieces.
Note: Photo shows a tiny 4″ cheesecake I made 🙂